Trick or Treat
by Trebors Voice
Summary: Lock, Shock and Barrel play pranks every Halloween. But what happens when a prank goes too far? And who's hiding in Oogie's basement?
1. The Plan

Disclaimer: I own none, I repeat, NONE of the Nightmare Before Christmas character. Willis Wolfe and any other humans in this chapter are all mine, though. Based on LoKi-Shiver's "Seven Days." For background info on Hariti, check that story out. It's excellent.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
It was Halloween again.  
  
Lock breathed in the cool night air. It was such a thrilling feeling, being back in the human world. He leaned back against the brick wall behind him and chuckled.  
  
Looking out from the alleyway he was in, he surveyed the scene before him. Children running everywhere, masks covering faces, bags filled to bursting with delicious candies of every sort and design. He licked his dark purple lips. It would be so simple to just jump out and grab one of those bags...  
  
No. No, he wasn't here for candy. Let Barrel collect all of that. He and Shock came out evey Halloween for a different reason now.  
  
It had been 3 years since the horrible incident with Hariti, and things were definately better now. Since then, the three of them had discovered the more fun side of Halloween for people their age.  
  
Lock stood up straight. His thin, muscular form was nearly hidden by his blood-red trenchcoat, but the tight black shirt clearly defined his flat stomach and well-developed pecs. The thin, pointed devil's tail swished around the ground, disturbing the dust by his feet. He had been searching for this year's target for the past two hours from this very spot, and he was getting restless.  
  
Ever since Lock and Shock had discovered the potential between them for a relationship, they had decided they were too old for candy-gathering on Halloween. Barrel was a year younger than Shock and two below Lock, so he considered himself still young enough, but the two others had moved on to what they considered a more adult Halloween. Enough of the treats, Barrel. Let's get on to the tricks!  
  
The past two Halloweens had been devoted entirely to playing pranks on the inhabitants of the human world. Jack couldn't argue with that, since he could remember doing the exact same thing in earlier years, so he let them go on the understanding that they couldn't actually hurt anyone. Ah, what's the worst that could happen? Lock thought with a grin. With his well-gelled hair turned up in his devil-horn hairdo, he looked positively wicked.  
  
Shock ran in from the other end of the alley, gasping for breath. Her long, black hair waved in the wind she created, billowing around and exposing her pale face and neck. Lock could remember a time when her neck looked terrible, rope burns from her violent death marring it's appearance, but all that remained now were a few scars.  
  
Shock stopped a few feet from him, bending over and resting her hands on her knees while she gulped in massive breaths. "I... found him," she wheezed.  
  
Lock nearly jumped for joy. Shock always found the best victims, so the young devil was more than willing to trust her judgement.  
  
Shock straightened and adjusted her tight lavender dress. Lock couldn't help but notice how she'd developed over the last 3 years, her curves looking so dangerous he was afraid she'd burst out of her dress. Not that I'd really mind, he mused to himself with a grin.  
  
Readjusting her tall witch's hat, she moved to the mouth of the alley and whispered, "He should be coming any moment now." She motioned for Lock to join her.  
  
"What are you guys looking at?" a loud voice that sounded slightly muffled by a full mouth uttered behind them.  
  
Lock cursed to himself and spun around. "Dammit, Barrel, could you be any more loud?" he hissed.  
  
Barrel grinned evily through a mouth full of candy and said, "Of course, but I want you guys to be able to hear."  
  
Lock grimaced. He knew what a pair of lungs Barrel had in that rotund torso of his. He looked his friend up and down. The bone images on his black clothes almost looked silly on the large form. It wasn't that Barrel was fat, but he certainly wasn't thin. He was probably stronger than Lock, though. The devil knew all to well that those layers of flab weren't very thick, and underneath was toned muscle.  
  
"Shock's found someone," Lock whispered ruefully. Barrel stopped with a candy bar halfway to his mouth and grinned, his light blue lips curving dangerously.  
  
"That's great!" he whispered back. "Where is he?"  
  
"Here he comes!" Shock hissed urgently, thrusting a thin, pale arm forward and pointing down the street.  
  
Lock looked down the path her arm made and saw her choice of victim. He was slightly surprised. Normally they picked on younger children, people they could frighten easily, but she had picked someone closer to their own age. He was walking down the street surrounded by young children, laughing and dancing with them! It was enough to make Lock feel sick.  
  
"That's him?" Barrel asked incredulously. "That's your pick of a guy? Why him?"  
  
Shock looked back at the skeleton boy and grimaced. "Because he wasn't scared by anything! These big guys jumped out of the bushes and tried to take the kids' candy, and he just leapt in, swinging and fighting until they left!" She squinted her eyes at the youth walking down the street. "I figure, if we can scare him, then we really are the best!"  
  
Lock took on almost a hungry look. "Good idea, Shock! If we can take this guy out, no one else will be any problem!" He rubbed his hands together.  
  
Barrel looked down, rubbing his three-toed feet together. "But what are we going to do to the guy?"  
  
Lock rubbed his chin. "I have a plan for that. All you need to do is help me catch him."  
  
"But how do we do that?"  
  
Shock smiled evily. "Leave that to me." 


	2. Trickery

Chapter 2  
  
Willis Wolfe had never felt better.  
  
He glanced about at the children running all around him and laughed through the false teeth in his mouth, his floppy hair whipping around his face. The light from the moon glistened off the enormous canines pressed to his own. His bare feet slapped the pavement under the baggy pants he wore, pulled tight around his thin waist.  
  
There was a tug on his hand, and he looked down at a young boy in a Superman costume. "Mister, is this thing real?" the young boy asked, holding aloft the bushy mock-wolf tail Willis had attached to his belt.  
  
"Only for tonight," Willis chuckled, "same as these." He brandished the claws attached to each of his fingers for the entire group to see. He took on a mock-ferocious face and crouched down, the tight grey shirt under his long, dark coat making his lanky form look almost skeletal. "Now go," he growled, "and gather your candy, for tonight is your night!" He lifted his head to the sky and gave his best imitation of a wolf howl as the children ran off, giggling the whole way.  
  
Willis shook his head and smiled. He pulled the sharp, monster-like dentures out and licked his teeth, attempting to get rid of the dry sensation in his mouth. "Bleh. The only bad thing about these," he grumbled. He shoved them back in his mouth and stuck his hands in his pockets.  
  
"Excuse me, but could you help me out? I'm a little lost."  
  
Willis turned at the sound of the unexpected voice. Standing in the lamplight he had just vacated was what appeared to be a young woman about his age. A huge witch's hat topped her thin head, black hair streaming down around her pale face. His eyes traveled down her curvaceous form, taking in the strapless, form-fitting lavender dress ending just above the knees and the high, black boots that seemed to make her legs go on forever. He swallowed as well as he could with the teeth in his mouth and took a step forward.  
  
"I could certainly try, miss. Where is it you're trying to get to?"  
  
The young woman waved a pale hand in his direction. Willis caught the scent of a strange perfume, making him suddenly woozy. "Oh, no where in particular," the woman said. "But then again, neither are you."  
  
Willis attempted to cock his head curiously, but he couldn't seem to keep his eyes open long enough to get a good view of the face he was trying to see. He felt his legs collapse under him, then the world crumbled beneath him.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Willis slowly opened his eyes, letting light filter in. His head was pounding with a force he didn't even know was possible. The only thing he could remember was the scent of that perfume... that sweet, tangy perfume...  
  
Voices started to intrude on his thoughts. "Are you sure we should just leave him here? I mean, he is pretty high up."  
  
"Oh, don't be such a wuss! He'll be fine. It'll only be a matter of time before someone comes to get him."  
  
Willis turned his head as well as he could towards the sound. He saw three figures standing upside down on what looked like a metal platform. It took him a few moments before he realized that HE was upside down. He looked below him to find a huge pit of what looked like some kind of liquid. A strange, murky liquid.  
  
He attempted to form words, but his mouth didn't want to respond. He realized that he still had his teeth in, but when he tried to move his hands to take them out, he found that they were tied behind his back, and no amount of wiggling could get him out.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Willis mumbled as loudly as he could. He saw one of the figures turn towards him and found himself looking at the face of a young man with what looked like devil's horns.  
  
"It's nothing personal, buddy. We just need to know that we are the champs!" Lock noticed the shocked look on Willis' face and grinned. "Don't you worry. Someone'll be here to get you down. At least, I certainly hope they will..." He broke off into riotous laughter and turned away, heading down the walkway with the other two. Willis caught sight of a lavender dress and caught a familiar scent in the dead air of the room.  
  
Willis struggled weakly, his hands numb from being tied up. He knew that he needed to get away soon, or the blood would all rush to his head.  
  
They're right, he thought. Someone should be in here soon to get me down.  
  
There was a shuffling noise above him, and Willis did his best to look up. Above him, on the rope dangling him from the ceiling, was a pitch black rat with glowing red eyes. "Go away!" Willis tried to shout, still hindered by the false fangs. "Get off!"  
  
The little rat cocked it's little head and appeared to look at Willis quizzically with its crimson eyes. Then it leaned down and bit through part of the rope. Willis watched as the rat turned around and scurried up the rope to the ceiling, disappearing in the shadows.  
  
There was a terrible snap, and Willis felt the sensation of falling, coupled with a sudden stop. He looked up and watched small strands of the rope begin to fray and break with the strain of his weight.  
  
"Help!" Willis yelled as well as he could. "Somebody help me!" If only someone would hear him, he could be saved...  
  
The last thing Willis thought as the rope snapped was that it was Saturday. Nobody worked on Saturday night... 


	3. Monstrous Differences

Chapter 3  
  
Willis hit whatever was below him with a loud splash, quickly sinking down into the murky substance. He struggled against the rope tying him down, but it was no good. The knots were too tight for him to get free.  
  
He began to feel a strange itching everywhere. He attempted to reach the top of the tank, but the contents of the vat were too thick, and he couldn't make any headway. The feeling on his skin got worse and started to burn. The pain was terrible! It felt like his skin was being stripped away at an agonizing pace. He screamed and felt the horrid liquid slip into his mouth and down into his lungs.  
  
His eyes snapped open, but he couldn't see anything around him. The burning was everywhere: his arms, his legs, his lungs. It burned every time his heart pumped. He screamed again, a wild, feral scream born of pain and fury.  
  
Mom, he thought, and then all thinking was gone.  
  
Somewhere in the factory, an alarm went off. A switch in the bottom of the tank clicked, and a huge pipe began to drain the contents. Willis' still form was swept away with the murky liquid, drained to the bay, where the contents became inert on contact with the water. The only eyes that watched Willis' corpse drift with the current were the gulls on the pier.  
  
* * * * *  
  
In Halloween Town, things were winding down from the festivities the night before. The citizens were exhausted, and most had already retired for a good day's sleep. Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, strode through town, looking happily at the decorations before they were taken down.  
  
Noisy voices drew his attention back from his reverie, and he found the trio of Lock, Shock, and Barrel walking into town, chewing on whatever candy they had collected through the night.  
  
"Good to see you're back, fellas," Jack called ruefully. He didn't care too much for what they did, but it was part of Halloween, so he couldn't tell them no.  
  
Lock grinned. "It was quite a night, Jack." He popped a malted milk ball in his mouth and chewed noisily. "We outdid ourselves this year."  
  
Jack shook his head and watched the three walk by, headed towards their treehouse on the other side of town. He liked to think they were trustworthy, but he had a nagging feeling that he couldn't quite rid himself of. Shaking his head sadly, he trudged off for home.  
  
* * * * *  
  
A stream of bubbles suddenly erupted from the lake situated in the middle of town. Everyone had already turned in for the day, so there was no one to witness the strange phenomenon. Had they been there, they would have seen a long, thin form bob to the top of the murky water. Loose ropes wrapped around its hands and legs, but it ripped them off with clawed hands. Stumbling out of the water, the figure stopped at the bank and dropped to all fours, shaking like a dog to rid itself of the water clinging to its torn clothes. A bushy tail shook the rest of the water off and hung down from under the figure's long, torn coat.  
  
Willis sank to the ground. Every one of his muscles screamed in agony. He reluctantly brought a hand to his temple and attempted to rub away the pounding sensation that ricocheted off his skull walls. He felt a strange prick on his forehead and pulled his hand away. A distorted hand with long, gnarled claws greeted his fuzzy vision.  
  
He eyes snapped open and he tried to roll away from the hideous mass of claws extending towards him. It wasn't until it followed his every movement that he realized it was his own hand he was looking at.  
  
What the hell is going on? Willis thought, rolling onto his feet and darting upright. He jumped to the lake's edge and kneeled down in front of it, gathering water in his odd hands and splashing it on his face. He shook his head, spraying water everywhere, and gasped for breath. His eyes opened and he looked down in the murky water.  
  
The reflection on the surface terrified him. His mouth wide open in the effort to take in enough air, he caught sight of terrible, sharp fangs lining the inside of his mouth. Long, pointed ears stuck out of long, ragged hair, and a tip of black topped his nose. His hands darted to his mouth, feeling along the top and bottom rows of sharp canines, designed for ripping into prey. He stared at the reflection of the hands in the water, claws tipping every finger.  
  
This has to be a dream! Willis thought frantically, becoming aware of the tail swishing around in the dirt. He became aware of sounds and smells that littered the area around him. He tried to remain calm, but he was failing miserably.  
  
Suddenly, a familiar scent drifted to his nostrils. A sweet scent, a noxiously sweet scent...  
  
It's her! Willis thought, his lips curling back to reveal his new teeth. His nose twitched. This was all their fault. He didn't know how, but he could tell they had been here recently. Well, they were about to see the monster they had created! 


End file.
